External 3.5 inch HDD enclosure

[Jonzjob]

I have a couple of 3.5" HDDs knocking around that I would like to use as external HDDs.

Is there a reasonably priced enclosure around that can be USB driven? Or are they all powered seperately? It seems a shame that a 500gig and a 250gig disk should just sit doing nothing and they would be handy for my digicam video..

 

[pigoo3]

I have a couple of 3.5" HDDs knocking around that I would like to use as external HDDs.

Is there a reasonably priced enclosure around that can be USB driven? Or are they all powered seperately? It seems a shame that a 500gig and a 250gig disk should just sit doing nothing and they would be handy for my digicam video..

Many external HD cases for 2.5" laptop hard drives are powered via the USB port...but 3.5" HD's require more power...and usually have their own power source/plug in adapter.

Many of these 3.5" external HD cases do transfer the data thru the USB port...but do not get their power from the USB port. As far as cost. Here in the US I've seen them for a little as $12-$15.

Also make sure you get the correct enclosure (depending on the type of HD you have)...either IDE/PATA or SATA.

HTH,

- Nick

 

[Jonzjob]

Thanks Nick. I thought that was the answer. After looking at the 2.5"ext HDDs complete I am wondering if it's worth the hassle of getting a box and putting a disk in it? They are so very cheap now.

It's quite funny, but when I worked for that small US company, you may have heard of it? IBM , the rule of thumb was that 1 meg of disk was about £1. It seems to be slightly cheaper now In our house now we have more disk space than the Barclays Bank computer center at Gloucester and you could get lost in the huge disk room!!!

 

[pigoo3]

Thanks Nick. I thought that was the answer. After looking at the 2.5"ext HDDs complete I am wondering if it's worth the hassle of getting a box and putting a disk in it? They are so very cheap now.

I think that it is if those 3.5" drives you have are of sufficient capacity to be useful. But if they're smaller than say 80-100gig...it may not be worth it. But again it depends on your needs.

It's quite funny, but when I worked for that small US company, you may have heard of it? IBM , the rule of thumb was that 1 meg of disk was about £1. It seems to be slightly cheaper now In our house now we have more disk space than the Barclays Bank computer center at Gloucester and you could get lost in the huge disk room!!!

Things certainly do change. I've been computing since the mid-80's...and I've seen a lot of $$$/unit of storage changes.

You mentioned a "Rule of Thumb" of £1/meg. Here's a deal for a 2 terabyte external 3.5" drive for $70 dollars US. That's $0.03 CENTS/gig!!!

Samsung D3 Station 2TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive for $70 + free shipping - STSHX-D201TDB

- Nick